


take it easy

by occludes



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 13:52:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2311931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occludes/pseuds/occludes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka notices immediately something is off, but he can fix it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	take it easy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Princess_Sachiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Sachiko/gifts).



> Tumblr prompt! Someone requested MakoHaru with a prompt of someone's head canon of Haru giving Makoto a massage. Sweetness.

Haruka notices immediately something is off.

It’s in the way Makoto’s arms move when he’s halfway through his lap. A subtle enough change that not even overly observing Rei seems to catch it, but Haruka does, and the way Makoto grimaces when he drags himself from the poolside solidifies his suspicion.

When Makoto straightens, Haruka is there, extending a towel and saying, “We’re done for the day.”

“Eh?” Makoto takes the towel without complaint, but his puzzled look is vexing because Haruka knows Makoto is well aware of why he’s saying it. Haruka only gives him a flat look before turning away and heading for the locker rooms.

They walk home in silence, not unusual in of itself. When they hit the steps just near Makoto’s house, Haruka inclines his chin. Makoto takes this as a sign that Haru wants him to walk the rest of the way, and he obliges with nothing more than a fond smile. This, too, is not unusual, and always welcome.

The unusual part is when they’ve stepped inside and Haruka points toward the bathroom. “Draw a hot bath and get in.”

This makes Makoto pause, and a slight pink creeps into his cheeks. “What? Haru—“

“Go.” Sharper this time.

Makoto slumps his shoulders and trots off for the bathroom, shedding clothing as he goes and—for lack of knowing what to do with them—places them in Haruka’s laundry basket for the time being. He’s been in this bathroom thousands of times, but Haruka can’t recall if Makoto has ever actually used his bath. By the time he slides open the bathroom door, Makoto has the tub half-filled and his knees are to his chest, arms wrapped loosely around them.

He takes one look at Haruka and quickly looks away, blush more prominent now. They’ve seen each other naked countless times, and it makes Haruka tilt his head, wondering at the sudden modesty.

“Haru?”

“Don’t give me that tone. You were being stupid today.” He places a bottle of mint oil on the ledge of the tub. “If you hurt yourself, you shouldn’t still be swimming on it.”

Makoto glances over his shoulder, sheepish. “Sorry, Haru... I didn’t want to make everyone else suffer by missing out on relay practice.”

Haruka hmph’s in response. “Where does it hurt?”

“Ah... Between my shoulder blades, mostly, I think.”

He studies a water a moment, decides the best method of going about this is to strip out of his own clothes—down to his bathing suit, at least—and take a seat on the back ledge of the tub with his legs in the water, behind Makoto, who hunches forward further as though curling in on himself. Fine by him; it makes accessing his back easier.

Makoto gives a questioning sound, to which Haruka doesn’t reply. He uncaps the bottle, drips a few drops into the bath water, and allows a generous amount into his palm, rubs his hands together, and places them against Makoto’s back, starting at his shoulders. He spreads the oil down as far as he can, to where the water level is steadily rising, and up again, ignoring the strong odor of mint that almost makes his eyes burn. It’s a concoction he’s found to work wonders on his own aches and pains after particularly brutal training sessions.

He starts with Makoto’s shoulders first, the heels of his hands pressing into the firm planes of muscle and making Makoto let out a low, soft sigh. Haruka’s hands are strong. They move like water across Makoto’s skin, thumbs digging into the tense knots along the back of his neck, at the base of his skull, down either side of his spine.

When he reaches the problem area just between Makoto’s shoulder blades, Makoto hisses, pained, and Haruka stops, starts to pull back worriedly.

“No, it’s okay,” Makoto assures him in a tone that is slightly breathless and brings a bit of warmth to Haruka’s face. “It’s going to hurt. There’s no way around that.”

 True enough, he supposes, but he’s never been one who wants to cause Makoto pain. He presses his lips together and returns his hands to that same spot, taking care this time in the way he presses and releases, slides his thumbs from origin to insertion like he remembers reading somewhere, at some point. Makoto shivers, sighs, skin prickling beneath Haruka’s hands despite the heat steadily filling up the bath room and the steam fogging over the mirror and window.

His fingers catch a knot to the right of Makoto’s spine; they press into it, smooth it out with slow, circular motions, and this time Makoto flat-out _groans_ in a way that is bordering on indecent and Haruka can’t mistake it as anything other than confirmation that he’s succeeding in what he set out to do: to make Makoto feel good. Even if his face feels a little flushed now, even if he’s glad Makoto is facing away and not able to see his expression.

“Feels good, Haru,” Makoto mumbles against his arms where his face is pressed. Haruka takes a deep breath. He slides forward, entirely into the water, stretching his legs out on either side of Makoto. His best friend doesn’t even question it, doesn’t seem surprised; he leans back into Haruka’s hands as they dip beneath the water to massage further down his body. Haruka bows forward, forehead resting against Makoto’s back where he can better hear him making soft, barely audible noises of contentment, and every step of the way Haruka is inwardly preening because he’s never felt Makoto relax quite like this, never heard him make those sounds, never seen him reduced to a bundle of sighing, whimpering nerves and Haruka is pleased because _he’s_ the source of that.

He reaches the base of Makoto’s spine, slides his hands out, splays his fingers over Makoto’s hips and lets them linger while waiting for a reaction. Makoto straightens up and for half a second, Haruka worries he’s done something wrong—but then Makoto is sliding down in the water a little, leaning his back against Haruka’s chest, head dropped back to Haruka’s shoulder, and the heat between their bodies makes a blush creep into Haruka’s face. Which is all right, because he can see the same can be said for Makoto; his cheeks, his ears, his neck, have all pinkened and it isn’t only from the hot water.

“You’re an angel, Haru,” Makoto hums, eyes falling closed.

Haruka tentatively bows his head, cheek pressed to Makoto’s hair. “Promise you’ll stop pushing yourself so far. It’s okay if you have to ease up.”

“Aa... I’m really all right, though.” His voice is thick and sleepy, but he has a smile on his mouth. “I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize being able to swim with you.”

At that, tension Haruka didn’t realize he was harboring eases out of him, slips from his shoulders, out his fingertips. He closes his eyes, breathes in deep. Makoto’s hair still smells like summer air and pool water and _Makoto_ , so... “We should do this again, then. Just to make sure.”

A lazy smile crawls over Makoto’s mouth. “Okay. Just to make sure.”


End file.
